


What happens in Vegas (Doesn't have to stay in Vegas)

by MistressJulia



Category: Designing Women
Genre: F/M, Las Vegas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:20:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23970712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressJulia/pseuds/MistressJulia
Summary: A new take on a that classic Las Vegas trope.Written by myself & anatemnein
Relationships: Anthony Bouvier/Julia Sugarbaker
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

"You got that itinerary, Charlene?"

"Yeah, yeah, right here in my purse. You know, Mary Jo, I don't know if we'll be able to get to everything on this list."

Mary Jo zipped her carry-on shut and looked at Charlene from her place behind her desk. "Oh, please, Charlene, you underestimate our ability to decimate an entire city and our back accounts over the course of a single weekend! You forget how much damage we've done being left alone here for a few hours, never mind being unsupervised for a few days."

Charlene smirked and laughed as Julia gave both of them a firm look from across the room as she counted her toiletries and made sure everything she needed was there. "Now come on, you all. Let's don't get carried away. We said we were gonna have fun this weekend, but we also need to be in shape enough to come to work Monday morning."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know" Mary Jo huffed, rolling her eyes teasingly.

The door opened and Anthony waltzed in, setting his suitcase on the ground and smiling at all of them. "Ladies, are we ready to have ourselves a care-free weekend in the land of sin and debauchery?"

"You better believe it, Anthony" Mary Jo said, pumping her arm playfully in the air.

"Mary Jo!" Julia cried, throwing her a warning glance.

Mary Jo waved her off as Anthony looked over at Julia. "Julia, you want me to take your things out to the van?"

"Yes, Anthony, thank you" she replied smoothly.

"You're not taking your car?" Charlene asked, looking at them curiously.

"No, Charlene, my back tire is flat, remember? I'll be riding with Anthony in the van, and we'll meet you all at the airport. You, Mary Jo, and Suzanne still taking your car?"

"Yeah" Charlene muttered, not exactly thrilled at the idea of spending even an hour in the car with Suzanne.

"She still bringing Bertram?" Mary Jo asked curiously, wondering where they were going to squeeze his oxygen tank.

"I think so, least that's what she told me last night" Charlene replied, giving her makeup a final once-over in her mirror before putting the compact back in her purse.

"You know, Julia, since Charlene and Mary Jo are buddied up and Suzanne has her boyfriend, you can hang with me some if you get tired of flying solo. I don't want to be demeaning, but Las Vegas is a rough city, and I don't want you ladies getting hurt."

Julia blushed slightly, realizing that Anthony's offer came on the heels of her admission to him last Thursday--during an uncharacteristically candid conversation between the two of them--that her relationship with Reese Watson had ended and she would be going it alone for the weekend. 

"Well sure, Anthony, thank you. I have a few shops and such that I want to get to that are likely of no interest to you, but if we cross paths while you're cutting cards or at the Craps table, then I might join you."

"Sounds like a plan" Anthony answered breezily, taking her things from her hand and walking back out to the van. 

"Alright everybody, let's get WILD!" Mary Jo cried, dancing her way to the front door.

Charlene cackled with delight as Julia shot her a stern glance. 

"Charlene?"

"Yeah?"

"No liquor for her, okay?" Julia said, nodding toward Mary Jo.

"Right, right" Charlene replied, nodding quickly, knowing that was easier said than done.


	2. Chapter 2

The ride to the airport was rather quiet but it was a comfortable quiet. Julia had always felt comfortable in Anthony's presence. He was always a gentleman and they matched wits wonderfully. They had shared some small talk along the way. It didn't hurt that he was not all that hard to look at. Julia felt the blush on her cheeks as she recognized her own thoughts. Though he was her employee, there was nothing that said that Julia could not look. She was a single woman now, afterall and she intended to celebrate that fact on this well deserved vacation. 

Julia felt pounds lighter as she considered the fact that Reese Watson was no longer here to bring her down. She wanted to immerse herself in all the life that she had missed while she had been trapped in such a venomous affair. That being said, she would do so in a very dignified manner. Julia knew that sometimes she had the tendency to take things to an extreme.

For himself, Anthony had been stealing the occasional glance at the women sitting next to him in the passenger's seat. There was no question that Julia Sugarbaker was the most beautiful and effortlessly feminine woman he had ever come across. She had legs that stretched on for days and these amazingly sad grey green eyes that just got him sucked in every now and again. And, now she was single though anything tried not to dwell on that fact. She probably did not wish to be entangled with anyone after she had dealt with Reese Watson and there was no way that she could possibly see Anthony as anything else but a delivery man.

Still, Anthony felt a fluttering settle in his stomach when he noticed that Julia was singing along with the radio. She must have felt his eyes on her for she turned toward him and they shared a smile. Julia felt herself blush. She had known that Anthony was checking her out. He eyed her the same way at work sometimes too. At first the brunette had attributed it to admiration but that flew out of the window when she had felt those brown eyes caress her body. 

The thought of what those looks could mean made Julia incredibly unsettled. She had not been looked at like in that particular way since Hayden. Lord knows, Reese had never eyed her so appreciatively. The thought of her ex-boyfriend made Julia want to vomit. She did not understand what she had ever done to have had to endure such trauma at the hands of someone that she thought loved her. She was glad that she had finally gotten enough courage to walk away before things could become worse than they had been. 

The van approached the airport and Anthony pulled into a parking spot before switching off the ignition. He hoped out of the van without delay, walking over to the other side and opening the passenger door for Julia. Anthony took her hand and and helped her step down. He then walked over to the back door and popped it open, gesturing for Julia to move away when she offered to carry her own suitcase.

'Just let me be macho.' Anthony teased as he watched Julia shake her head and roll her eyes. 

'You won't be able to be macho if your back gives out.' Julia inferred as she watched Anthony lift their luggage and then set it down onto the cart. 

'You have a point but I can't let you hurt your knees by lifting these heavy suitcases.'Anthony insisted. 

'I will have you know that my knees are just fine.' Julia spouted defensively.

'You don't have to pretend, Julia. I've seen you wincing and rubbing them after a long day. Don't feel bad. We all hurt in places we didn't hurt before.' Anthony chuckled, making the older woman lower her guard. 'And, if it makes it any better- bum knees don't make you look any less beautiful.' The young delivery man winked as they fell into step together going toward the airport. 

Julia felt herself blush at his words. She had forgotten that Anthony had a penchant for noticing practically everything. 

'You are going to give me a big head.' Julia sighed as she gave him a shy little grin. 

'And, that's an issue because?' Anthony asked chuckling as he set the suitcases down to open the door for the safe brunette who sauntered sexily into the airport. 'When did it become a problem to tell a beautiful woman that she is beautiful?'

'I… I guess I am just not used to hearing it said genuinely.' Julia countered as she felt Anthony fall in behind her as she led him to the bagging area. 

Anthony just shook his head at her. He could not believe how girlishly shy and incredibly modest Julia was about her looks. He hoped that this little trip would give her some of her old confidence back. He just wanted her to stop second guessing herself. She had no reason to feel like she was anything less than the most beautiful woman that ever walked into any room. Reese had butchered her self esteem. That was apparent and though it was not his own brokenness, a part of Anthony yearned to help Julia put those pieces slowly back together.


	3. Chapter 3

"Vegas, baby, Vegas!"

"MARY JO!" Julia snapped, shooting her a look across the aisle.

"Oh come on, loosen up, Julia, have some fun! We only get one lousy weekend away, might as well make it a good one" Mary Jo retorted, smirking mischievously. 

Julia stiffened, throwing Charlene a warning glance as she settled back in her seat. "Charlene."

"Julia, I promise, she hasn't had anything to drink, I've been watching. And anyway, the flight's almost over, might as well let her get it out now."

Julia shook her head, turning briefly to check behind her to see what Suzanne was doing (sleeping) before turning back around and inhaling slowly. She'd never told anyone, but flying wasn't exactly a favorite activity, and the pilot had announced they were closing in on their destination which meant she'd have to endure the awful feeling of the plane landing while simultaneously praying they didn't go up in flames. 

"Julia, you okay?" Anthony asked gently.

"Of--of course, Anthony, why?" she replied tensely, looking over at him.

"Because your grip is so tight that if you keep pulling on that arm rest you're gonna loosen the stuffin'" he said, looking pointedly at her as he shot a glance down at her hands.

Julia followed his gaze and tensed in embarrassment, forcing herself to loosen her grip as she said, "Oh, well, of course, I was just, well...you know, just holdin' on, haha" she said as jovially as possible, a halfhearted chuckle escaping her lips with her reply.

"Julia," Anthony said gently, touching her forearm, "we're almost there. Don't worry about it, lots of people don't like flying. I don't."

"You don't?" she asked curiously, folding her hands in her lap as she looked up at him.

"Hell naw!" he cried playfully, throwing her playful look. "No, no, I'm a water and land kinda dude, I don't really do all this."

Julia let out a slight laugh, looking down shyly and watching as the plane began to descend and eventually slow to a stop on the runway. 

"Vegas, baby, Vegas!" she heard Mary Jo cry again as she watched her jump from her seat and reach for her luggage.

"We'll have to keep an eye on her" she said to Anthony as they collected their things and exited the plane, walking toward the entrance of the airport toward the parking lot and scanning the area for their taxi. They were three hours behind Georgia time (9 pm to their 12 pm), but it was surprisingly dark in sin city, and the only lights around them now were the lights of the other cars pulling into and out of the parking lot as families smiled and hugged one another in greeting. Eventually, they spotted their taxi--or taxis, rather--and loaded their luggage in the trunks and headed for the hotel. They'd booked their rooms months in advance and had managed to end up on the same floor in the same vicinity, Mary Jo and Charlene beside each other, Suzanne and her boyfriend in one suite, and Julia and Anthony on the other end, in their rooms. The drive to the hotel was fairly painless, and they collapsed exhaustedly onto their beds, shoving their things in the corner and vowing to unpack tomorrow. Julia was just getting out of the shower and wrapping a robe around her waist when she heard a faint knock on her door. 

"Anthony?" she said curiously, opening the door wider, surprised to see him on the other side. 

"Hey, Julia, hope I didn't wake you" he said softly, noticing her makeup free skin and damp robe. 

"Oh, oh no, no, I was just..." Julia trailed off awkwardly, waving a hand in the direction of the shower.

"Well, I won't keep you, I was just gonna grab a bite to eat before they close the dinner buffet, you want anything?" he offered, nodding in the direction of the elevator.

"No thank you, Anthony, that's very sweet, but I'm alright, really. You don't have to take care of my every need. I may be alone in Vegas, but I'm fine. Just go on and have yourself a good time" she said gently, smiling appreciatively at him, and making a mental note not to become a burden to him if at all possible.

Anthony nodded and said, "Okay, Julia. You let me know if you change your mind, okay?"

"Okay" she promised, smiling at him. "You be careful now! Those women bite out here, ya know" she teased, winking at him. She closed the door gently and sighed, looking contemplatively around her room before jumping into bed and grabbing the book from her nightstand. Truthfully, she was without an anchor in a strange city, so to speak, and didn't have the foggiest clue as to what she was going to do with herself over the course of the next few days besides shopping and spending a bit of time with Mary Jo and Charlene. Suzanne, she knew, would entertain herself, and she didn't exactly want to spend sun up to sun down running after Mary Jo and trying to keep her from getting sloshed. She drifted off to sleep as she thought to herself that maybe kicking her feet up poolside wasn't a terrible idea. She figured, if nothing else, that it may enable her to meet someone while she was here.


	4. Chapter 4

Anthony had been walking around the hotel, exploring and learning where things were when he passed in front of the door leading to the indoor swimming pool. He supposed that a swim might be nice. There was a bar there as well. He didn't really have any plans tonight. He might have taken in a show but he did not really want to do so alone. The ladies all seemed to have plans that didn't involve him so he had decided to just wander for a bit until he got hungry or tired. 

He went to his room and changed into a pair of swim trunks before heading back to the indoor pool area. He opened the door and noticed that it was actually not as packed as he had thought that it would be. Everyone must be out gambling. He was thinking about what kind of drink he would like to order when he just so happened to catch sight of a woman that was getting out of the water. Anthony could not help but stare as he watched inches of the woman's body be revealed to him. She had serious curves and the bathing suit she wore although a one piece, did nothing to hide what it was covering. The bottom half was stuck like a second skin to her ass and Anthony wondered if this white woman had a permit to carry around something like that. 

He was knocked out of his thoughts when the mystery woman turned around and revealed her true nature. Julia? Julia … Good lord. Anthony had always known that Julia was in shape but this was bordering on ridiculous. Her petite figure was tight and she dipped in all of the right places. She had her long brown hair up in a bun with curls hanging down among her face. She didn't even notice him as she walked over to the bar, that same old sashay on her hips. Anthony considered turning around and leaving but decided against it. They were both on their own here and Anthony enjoyed Julia's company a great deal. He didn't have anything to worry about as long as he could keep his cool.

Anthony walked over to the bar and smiled when the brunette turned to him in wide wonder.

'Anthony… I would have thought that you would have been busy racking up millions in the casino by now.' Julia gently chided as she tried not to notice his eyes quickly wondering over her front. 

'I didn't really feel like losing my money. You know, since I may have to bail Mary Jo out of the jail before the morning is through.' Anthony joked as he watched the blush on Julia's face deepen. 

'I told them to limit her. See, that's why I did not decide to go out with them. I didn't want to babysit.' Julia snorted as she ordered herself her second drink of the night. A dry gin and tonic with slices of orange and basil.

'I hear that. I definitely did not want to be the designated anything tonight. It has been far too long since Ol' Anthony has enjoyed a vacation.' Anthony noted as he put in his drink order. 'A Scotch on the rocks.'

'I never dreamed that you drank Scotch. That seems so stuffy for you.' Julia offered as she watched Anthony turn his attention back to her. 

'Yes well, Dondi always did say that I had refined tastes.' Anthony laughed as he admired Julia's beautiful olive skin, so much of it now exposed to his eyes. 'I never thought that you drank anything but wine and champagne.'

'She speaks the truth. You are a pretty classy fella.' Julia smiled. 'Not true. I don't even like champagne all that much. My daddy always drank really strong, well aged Scotch and it was the first liquor that I ever took a liking to.' 

'I don't really like champagne either. I have never met a woman who says that they appreciate a Scotch before. You are some piece of work.'' Anthony smiled, shaking his head as he took his drink from the bartender. 

'A piece of work, huh? I think that some would concur.' Julia sighed as she took her drink and walked back to the area of the pool that she had been enjoying. 

Anthony felt a pang of sadness as he considered Julia's response. She and Reese had only just ended their relationship and he knew that though things had been heading south for a while that Julia was vulnerable right now. In that case, Anthony was glad that he had crossed paths with her. The last thing that she needed to be doing was drinking alone in a strange place. Anthony knew that one of the reasons that Julia did not care for champagne was because of what had happened the weekend of Payne's wedding. Mary Jo had told him all about how Julia had gone out on stage and gyrated for all of her son's acquaintances. She had also told about how the older woman had spent the night with Payne's young roommate. 

Julia had confessed to the ginger after everything had happened that she had been made love to by the young college student. Anthony could not believe that. That had not sounded like the Julia he knew at all. He would hate for her to fall prey to some stranger. He considered her well being to be very important. Julia was certainly very special to him, not just as a boss and a friend. *** He did not know during which point in time the lines had been blurred but he knew that she was so much more than what he was ready to admit. 

Anthony followed her lead and sat down on the edge of the pool while he sipped his Scotch. He let his toes hit the water and the coldness paired well with the fire inside of his stomach being ignited by the alcohol as well as by the company. He watched as Julia got comfortable and relaxed in the water. She didn't have any makeup on and she looked so beautiful. Before he noticed what he was going to say, he was already speaking out.

'It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You are an incredible person and any man would be lucky to have you.' Anthony offered pointedly as he watched the brunette turn to face him. 'Don't ever let anyone tell you any different.'

Julia looked up at Anthony her place in the pool and shot him a curious but grateful look. "Thank you, Anthony" she replied softly, watching as he turned beet red as he realized what he'd said to her.

"Oh, you're welcome! I mean that as a friend, of course, you know, like, professional and all, you know..." he stammered, feeling beads of perspiration form along his hairline as he tried frantically to think of a way to NOT laugh like Jerry Lee Lewis in a semi-crowded, fairly upscale hotel. 

Julia couldn't help herself, and giggled a little, shaking her head and sending a few ringlets dancing around her face. "I figured" she replied, biting her lip as she giggled a bit more.

"That's good" he said hurriedly, nodding his head. 

Julia hesitated, looking around to see that, apart from them, there were only a few couples left, some of whom were already starting to pack up their things and head upstairs. She had no clue how late it was--well after midnight, she guessed--as she'd only been able to nap for an hour due to the excitement of being in a new city full of new opportunities. She shrugged shyly, inhaling before looking back up at him and saying, "You gonna get in...?"

Anthony furrowed his brow in confusion and followed her eyes as she threw a pointed glance at his swim trunks, which were still bone dry from his sitting timidly on the edge. He let out a nervous laugh, motioning awkwardly with his hands and said, "Oh, yeah, cause of swim trunks, haha!", silently kicking himself as he got in. 

He set his drink down, slowly lowering himself into the water, becoming acclimated to the temperature as he splashed around and walked over to where Julia was, watching as she nodded her head in the direction of one couple in particular who was on their way out of the doors to the pool.

"Looks like she forgot the other half of her bathing suit" she said snarkily, shaking her head in disgust at the woman's barely-there string bikini.

"Guess that's why they call it sin city" Anthony cracked, shaking his head as he followed her gaze. 

Julia looked up at him apologetically, cocking her head and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm just in a bad mood is all, Anthony. You don't have to pretend to me; maybe I'm just jealous she can still pull that off."

Anthony looked down at Julia in surprise, watching her face fall slightly as she looked down and turned away from him. 

"Hey now, I'm not pretending--I agree with you! I may be a man's man and all but I like a modest and elegant woman more than a bold and brash one."

"You do?" Julia asked in disbelief, wrinkling her nose as she thought about Vanessa, all short gold lame skirts and Tina Turner hair.

"Generally, I mean" he said, shrugging and nodding as he realized who she was thinking of. 

"Oh" Julia said, laughing slightly and looking away again. As he watched her float gently in the water, it occurred to Anthony that the reason she had asked him to get in with her had not been born of a newfound boldness, but of a desire not to be alone. He'd never thought much of it before, but looking at her now he realized that Reese had essentially gathered up the pieces of her self-confidence--which Anthony figured hadn't been plentiful to begin with--and shattered them slowly and deliberately, taking his time and doing the job so thoroughly that he'd left behind a woman with a completely broken sense of self. 

"I mean, you look nice" he said suddenly, watching as she looked up at him in surprise.

"This old thing? Oh sure, Anthony, I pulled this out of the back of my closet after having not worn it for years, I'm surprised it still fits" she said, poking at her stomach semi-jokingly and shaking her head. "The least I could do is cover myself up at this age."

"Well now, look, Julia...I don't know what Reese has been tellin' you all these years, but I see before me a feminine, smart, beautiful woman that could easily get any man in this hotel, and probably any man within a ten mile radius without event tryin'" he said, looking at her plainly as he watched her face flicker in surprise.

"...You do...?" she said softly, furrowing her brows in a way that told him she didn't quite believe him and figured he was doing this just to be nice.

"I'm not bein' nice, Julia, I'm bein' honest--I think you're beautiful and that any man would be lucky to have you...and I also think Reese is full of shit, and I always have" he said sternly, meeting her eyes with an unwavering gaze.

Julia looked down, slightly embarrassed at having let her guard down so much in front of him--her business partner, no less--that he was now being forced to build up her confidence while they stood half-naked in a hotel pool. 

She shrugged, looking off in the distance briefly before looking back at him and saying, "He wasn't really that bad, Anthony, I mean, I over-exaggerate, you know how I am--we had plenty of good times."

"I know you did," he replied simply, "but I also know that the way you feel about yourself doesn't have anything to do with those good times."

She blushed, shifting awkwardly under the water as she felt him touch her arm and say, "Listen, I'm not trying to argue you with you about Reese Watson because what's past is past and it's better that it stay that way, but I am saying, as a man and as your friend, that I'm sorry he treated you so bad."

Julia bit her lip as she stared at the water, willing herself not to cry but feeling the tears sting her eyes anyway. She had never told anyone about what exactly Reese had done--or, moreover, what he was capable of--and as out of character as it was for her to feel bashful about anything, she had to admit it was nice to see someone care for her the way she always cared for others. 

"Thank you, Anthony" she said softly, looking up at him and smiling, studying him for the first time in what she thought was a long time. She had never really looked at Anthony, but as he stood in front of her now, his dark boyish eyes reflecting back her shy, sad face, she had to admit that she understood his popularity with the women of Atlanta.

Suddenly, they heard a band strike up in the room next door, whirling their heads around in surprise and hearing the clapping and laughter of people in response.

"Must be that nightclub act" Anthony said quietly, looking down at the water and remembering the sign he'd passed on the way to the pool.

"Nightclub act?" Julia asked curiously, her eyes widening with excitement.

"That's right, Giselle, the stage awaits" he said teasingly, watching her whack him in response as she blushed at the memory of seeing him watch her from the corner of the Blue Note Club. 

"Oh please" she said sarcastically, shaking her head and biting back a smirk.

"You wanna check it out?" he asked, looking at her seriously.

Julia shifted uneasily, looking at him as she said, "I don't have any makeup on, Anthony..."

"You don't need it!" he said quickly, watching her fuss with her hair self-consciously. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll wait while you touch up, and then we can meet back down here. The party's gonna be going all night, I know that much."

Julia hesitated, then threw him a lopsided grin and said, "Sure, why not? It'd be fun to cut loose a bit and knock back some drinks while watching Lola the Lady sing "When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"" she cracked, walking up the pool stairs and over to where her towel lay on the pool chair.

"You go freshen up and then come get me when you're ready. I've got to throw some clothes on myself" he said, looking down at his wet trunks and damp t-shirt.

They took the elevator, parting ways when they hit their floor and disappeared into their rooms. Julia flipped through her closet quickly, grabbing a slinky, knee-length black dress from her closet and washing her face before dusting some face powder on and applying her favorite lip liner. She looked herself over in the mirror before waltzing next door to Anthony's room, trying to be inconspicuous as she looked him over as he stepped out of the door and shut it behind him, straightening his shirt collar and brushing his slacks.

"You ready?" he asked, smiling at her and offering his arm.

"You bet" Julia replied excitedly, giggling as she walked to the elevator with him. She knew that in the safety of their hotel, they could only do so much damage.


	5. Chapter 5

The idea that she would be safe with Anthony inside of the hotel had proven to be a silly notion. There was nothing at all safe about the way that Julia was now slurping down her cocktails. They found a nice little table for two in the back of the nightclub and had been enjoying the music along with the occasional burst of conversation. Anthony had never seen this side of the beautiful brunette before. She was relaxed and she laughed wholeheartedly with him. She enthralled him with her unexpectedness and with the way that she kept looking over at him through her long lashes. 

For his part, Anthony had started ordering doubles. The Scotch helped to relax him and make sure that he would not make a fool of himself in front of Julia. She apparently had no problems with alcohol and Anthony sat in wonder as he watched the sage relish every new drink. 

'I am glad that you took me up on my offer to check this out.' Anthony noted, somehow knowing that no matter what else he experienced while in Vegas, being out with Julia was the highlight of this particular trip. 

'I guess that I was just in the right place at the right time.' Julia smiled softly as she wiggled to the music in her seat. 'I really didn't have any particular plans while we were out here. Nothing other than shopping and even that was lack luster.'

'You should have asked me to join you. Suzanne always makes me go shopping with her so I am used to holding bags and being led around.' Anthony informed as he took a swill of Scotch. 

'Yes, well… I am Julia and Julia prefers to hold her own bags.' The brunette beamed as she watched Anthony shake his head at her. 

'Well, then more power to you. Just remember that my offer stands. Especially for someone so devastatingly beautiful.' Anthony smiled handsomely. 

'Anthony! I told you to stop that. You are making me blush.' Julia sighed, her eyes finding a focal point on the floor.

'I never imagined that a woman as outspoken as you are could get so bashful. Anthony offered as he downed the rest of the Scotch in his glass then cleared his throat. 'It gives you s girlish quality that I find very attractive.'

'You do ?' Julia asked, not believing the way that Anthony was trying to charm her. He sure was a sweet talker and that combined with the alcohol made her head swim. 

'I do. Very much… ' Anthony nodded as he watched Julia's green eyes turn slightly darker in color as she looked up at him. 'You are every man's fantasy, Julia and Reese obviously did not know what he had when he had it… I...I am sorry if that was out of line but it is nonetheless true.'

'Oh, I am certainly not all that…' Julia concurred, shaking her head at the dark and handsome man across from her. 

'Oh, but you are. You have no idea how often I hear our Male clientele going on about the 'brunette boss with the great set of gams' as well as a few other things that you are too much of a lady to hear.' Anthony chuckled as he watched Julia's cheeks turn an even deeper shade of pink. 

'Oh, come now. I will have you know that I am not always this upstanding individual that you see before you. I can get rowdy with the bof them.' Julia assured as she tossed back the rest of her cocktail and then just as quickly called the waiter over to order another. 

'Well, as long as you don't jumping on the stage like you did at Payne's wedding then we ought to be fine.' Anthony teased watching her mouth drop open in surprise. 

'What do you know about that ?' Julia asked as she threw a sharp glare his way.

'Suzanne played the tape for one evening and I have to say that I never thought that you could move your body like that… You really know how to put on a show. Are you sure that designing homes is really your calling? Maybe while we are here, you can audition to become a showgirl.' Anthony laughed as he watched the brunette go from livid to incredibly modest.

'I am going to get that tape from Suzanne come hell or high water… then I am going to destroy it. I cannot believe that she is showing that to people… As for callings, you should know that my heart was always in the performing arts ever since I was a little bitty girl. It was all that I ever wanted to do but then when I met Hayden and became a mother all that changed.' Julia noted bitingly, her tone starting to carry a slight slur as she went along.

'I could see that. You would have been a wonderful actress. You certainly do have a flair for the dramatic but that is one of my favorite things about you. You keep things interesting.'


	6. Chapter 6

Before either of them knew it, it was early morning--what time exactly neither one of them could say--and the drinks that they'd downed only an hour or so earlier were starting to really take hold. They weren't so drunk they couldn't stand, but they were on the deep end of tipsy, and--having watched the nightclub act til the end--had decided to wander the halls for a bit and familiarize themselves with the hotel. 

It occurred to Anthony as they walked along that neither of them knew what was even available down the long winding hallways, but they only needed a few minutes before they discerned that this was no pre-Civil War Atlanta offering.

Restaurants--more than they could count, and many they did not know--sat along the bottom floor, intermingled with gift shops, high-end clothing stores, a casino, and a small chapel (where the in-love and the in-lust exchanged vows). 

Anthony chuckled, stopping to take in a couple standing under a white, flower covered arbor, kissing each other drunkenly as the officiant pronounced them husband and wife. They stumbled out of the chapel as Anthony turned to Julia and said, "You know...what would really piss Reese off?" his words coming out slurred and stilted as he giggled. "You and I gettin' married!"

"Oh boy," Julia cackled, wavering slightly and falling against him unintentionally as she laughed at the thought, "that would really pull the stuffing out of his ego!"

Anthony laughed harder, grabbing her hand playfully and motioning toward the chapel as he said loudly, "Julia Sugarbaker, do you take this lowly ex-con turned delivery man turned business partner to be your husband?"

"I do!" Julia cried gleefully, throwing her head back with laughter and laughing uncontrollably. "Could you just...could you PICTURE Suzanne, Mary Jo, and Charlene's faces? They would never let us live it down!"

Anthony shook his head, pulling her closer as he said, "Maybe...maybe we do it just to SPITE them!"

"Spite! Spite them and Reese Watson!" Julia answered, pointing at the altar and wiggling wildly. 

The moments after that were a blur, and the next thing Julia knew she and Anthony were standing under the arbor as she heard someone say, "--I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Julia grabbed the back of Anthony's neck intensely and kissed him passionately. There was some small, nagging voice buried under the alcohol that told her she had completely lost control, but that part was overridden by the bigger, larger voice that had coaxed her into this position in the first place.

"My bride!" Anthony cried, sweeping her off her feet and stumbling toward the exit.

Julia giggled gleefully, landing on her feet as he set her back down and pulling him toward the elevator, stumbling the entire way as the alcohol pumped through her bloodstream. They barely made it to her room, stumbling against each other as she unlocked the door and then over to the bed, kissing wildly and haphazardly pulling at each other's clothes.

They were too inebriated to get passed each other's outwear, deciding instead to make out before they fell asleep. Julia awoke some 30 minutes later, sweaty from the alcohol and makeout session and stripped her clothes off without a second thought, lying down beside Anthony, who had already done the same thing. Her head barely hit the pillow before she was fast asleep, her cheek resting soundly against Anthony's naked shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

The sunlight crept in through the window as daybreak began to settle in. The first thing that Anthony registered was the fact that he was very warm. The blanket was covering him completely and there was a softness against him that he had never really felt before. This must be what it felt like to be totally at ease. This vacation was going so perfectly. He could hardly believe it. He was relishing that thought when he felt that softness move against him. His eyes flew open in surprise. Had he gotten lucky last night? He did not remember much. Those drinks at the nightclub had really done him in…

He didn't give that fact much thought as he decided to make the most of this moment and maybe initiate some early morning fun between himself and the mystery woman in his bed. He was a man after all, a single man at that and he had to take these moments for what they were. They had obviously already messed around as Anthony was almost sure that they were both naked. He slyly moved himself away from the slumbering beauty before easing his body slowly beneath the blankets that covered them. If he was anything at all, Anthony Bouvier was a giver and he wanted to thank the woman for what he was sure must have been a hell of a night. 

Anthony was methodical as he let eased the women's thighs apart and turned her further onto her back from where he was now hidden in the sheets. Whoever this was had amazingly toned thighs and Anthony let his hands slide over the sleek muscle appreciatively. He could not really see but he could see that this woman also appeared to be completely waxed. These Las Vegas women were so fancy. He licked his lips and without too much preamble, he let his tongue slither across her flushed little slit.

Julia's eyes opened to half moons and she gave a whimper as she felt the warmth of a tongue caress her full nakedness. This was not at all how she had expected to wake up this morning. While it was true that she hardly ever suffered hangovers, she had expected to feel her age after all of the gin that she had put down. So she had managed to meet someone after all and apparently this someone was not selfish. She fervently hoped that he was at the very least over thirty. She was naked so she assumed that she had let him make love to her at some point in the night. 

Though the moral side of her conscience told her to toss the sheet back and reveal this mystery man, the more carefree side that she had promised to embrace while on this trip, had ordered that she lay back and enjoy. She was single after all and she did happen to believe that women had the right to mess around if they wanted to so as long as they did so with dignity. The brunette let her eyes fall back completely shut and willed herself to relax. 

Anthony heard a quiet little mew from somewhere above him and smiled softly as he felt the woman stir a little bit. He brought his hands in and used his fingers to slowly open her up to him. He leant forward a touch and inhaled the scent of her sweet flesh before letting his tongue slide across her pearly pink pussy flesh. She was wet and getting wetter as drug his tongue across her, gently at first. It was not long until Anthony had found the swollen little bundle that acted as the female pleasure center. 

Julia felt her lower half jolt and she moaned hotly as the man in between her legs found her clitoris with ease. He was wiggling the tip of his tongue across it, playing with different types of speed and pressure. It had been a long time since Julia had been made love to in this particular way and she felt relieved that this man knew what he was doing. So much so that she considered bringing him to Atlanta with her. She could hire him on as her assistant and he could he in charge of her pleasure. She was knocked out her thoughts when she felt him start to suckle on her swollen jewel. 

'Oh, yes...yes…' Julia moaned as the man feasted on all the she had to offer. 

It was then that she decided to stop being so silly. She deserved to be able to see who was waking her in such a tangible way. She used one of her hands to fling the blankets back and forced her eyes open so that she could look down. Nothing in the world could have prepared Julia the sight that greeted her. Nothing at all. What had she done? What had they done? 

Anthony felt the sheets being pulled away as he worked on devouring the woman that was moaning endlessly for him… until she wasn't and then he had to pull his face away. As their eyes met and realization struck him, Anthony felt his heart stop. Julia. He'd taken Julia to bed… after he had assured himself and her that he would not let her step into less than desirable hands. He was supposed to be simply escorting her around, not sleeping with her. He expected Julia to reach down and slap him in the face; for her to telephone the hotel security and have him taken away in cuffs but nothing happened. She didn't even try to push him away any further than he was already.

'Should I stop ?' Anthony asked, feeling terribly awkward for asking such a question as she just stared down at him in deep thought. 

'I don't know… I don't… I didn't think that it was you… ' Julia stammered, completely floored and unsure of what to say or do. She supposed a part of her was just relieved that this person was not a stranger but she never expected to wake up like this with her delivery man. 

'Were you enjoying it ?' Anthony asked as he eyed Julia curiously. 'I won't stop if you were… But, if not then I can get dressed and I can go on back to my room…' 

'I… I think I was.' Julia admitted in a quiet voice as she felt suddenly vulnerable beneath Anthony's unwavering stare. 

'Then, I'm not stopping.' Anthony promised as he laid a soft kiss against Julia's outer lips. 'We can figure this all out when I'm done.'

Julia found that she could only nod. She could not find the voice to him how good it felt to have her needs even considered at all. She supposed that she should not be all that surprised. Anthony had such a kind and caring nature. It made sense that he was the same way in the bedroom. 

Her grey green eyes remained on his even as Anthony started to lick her with his tongue once more. Julia could not pull herself away. She willed herself to relax as Anthony began to love her once more. His free hand reached up to grab hers and he entwined their fingers. Anthony could not believe what was happening but he did not want to mess anything up in case he never got this chance again. He had been fantasizing about this gorgeous woman for years and finally fate had brought her to him albeit in the most unexpected of ways. 

His tongue found her clitoris and he started to tease the swollen bundle. He was a little bit more sure of himself now and he was ready to show Julia just how dedicated to the cause he was. He spread her outer lips apart and started to give her long lollipop licks. She tasted so good. She was as sweet as honey fresh from the comb. Her warm juices covered his lips and his chin. Julia's hips slowly moved with every movement of his tongue.


	8. Chapter 8

The morning was half gone and Mary Jo wrinkled her nose as she picked at her omelet, looking up at Charlene curiously and saying to her, "Have you seen Julia?"

"No, why?" Charlene answered disinterestedly, studying her menu as she tried to figure out which entree to order.

"I don't know, I just sort of thought she'd be up by now. It's not like Julia to sleep late" Mary Jo said, furrowing her brows and trying to remember if Julia had mentioned that she would be going anywhere after they got to the hotel.

"She's probably just sleepin' in, lord knows she deserves it" Charlene mumbled, shutting her menu and setting it down on the table.

"Mary Jo! Charlene!" 

They whirled their heads around to see Suzanne rushing toward them, waving her hand and looking agitated as she stomped to their table.

"Yes, Suzanne?" Mary Jo asked in annoyance.

"Where the hell is Anthony?"

"Anthony?" Charlene asked.

"YES, Anthony, the guy who does our deliveries, Charlene" she snapped, glaring at her.

"Suzanne, you know good and well Anthony is our business partner so knock it off. Plus, how would we know? We were just wondering where Julia is, we don't keep tabs on Anthony" Mary Jo snapped, stabbing at her salad.

"You mean Julia's not up?" Suzanne asked, looking at her curiously.

"Not that we know of, but we didn't check" Mary Jo mumbled.

There was a long silence on Suzanne's end and Mary Jo raised her head to look at her, noticing the curious expression on her face.

"What, Suzanne?" Charlene asked, staring at her too.

"You mean to tell me that neither Anthony--nor Julia--have made an appearance this morning?" Suzanne asked, her tone suggesting she'd realized something they hadn't.

"Yes...?" Mary Jo asked, still completely bewildered.

Suzanne looked over her shoulders before leaning closer to them and saying softly, "You mean to tell me that in Sin City we've lost track of a woman who once woke up in the bed of Payne's college roommate AND our delivery guy, who very rarely drinks?" 

Mary Jo froze, slowly looking over at Charlene and setting her fork down before looking back up at Suzanne and mumbling, "Yeah...so?" in a tone that suggested that she was anything but indifferent anymore.

Suzanne stood back up, looked up at the ceiling, then back at them and before she could say anything they sprung out of their chairs and followed her, nearly racing down the hallway as they dove into the elevator and frantically pushed the button for the third floor, barreling out of it when the doors opened and rushing to Anthony's room. 

Suzanne stepped forward, whacked her hand on his door and yelled, "Anthony!"

They waited a few minutes, and when no one came to the door they stepped over to Julia's room and were about to knock when they heard a soft moan on the other side of the door. The moan was just barely audible through the thick steel, and they paused, looking at one another curiously. 

"Ha, it was probably just the wind" Mary Jo said, laughing halfheartedly as she shook her head.

"Moaning wind?" Suzanne replied, a condescending look on her face.

"Wind can sound like anything!" Charlene chirped, smiling at Suzanne and feeling her face slowly fall as she caught sight of the expression on her face.

Before either of them could reply they heard the sound again, turning toward the door and staring at it before turning slowly back around.

"...You gonna knock...?" Mary Jo asked quietly, looking fearfully at Suzanne.

"Uh-uh" she replied, stepping away from the door, praying there was a logical explanation for the sound emitting from Julia's room. 

"So what do we do?" Charlene asked, turning toward her as she began to walk away from them.

Suzanne stopped, hesitated before spinning around in her heels and saying sternly, "Pray. We wait and we pray" before disappearing down the hall.

Charlene looked at Mary Jo and said with a laugh, "Y-you don't think Julia would actually...?"

Mary Jo hesitated before drawing in a sharp breath and saying, "No! No. No, not at all, I mean...". She trailed off, looking hopelessly back at Anthony's door and said, "There's probably a reasonable explanation that we will hear over dinner tonight."

"Dinner?" Charlene asked, stumbling after Mary Jo as she pulled her back toward the elevator. "Don't you wanna--"

She stopped short, catching the look in Mary Jo's eyes as the elevator doors closed behind them. 

"Dinner sounds great" she replied, looking up at the ceiling as Mary Jo starred at the ground, both of them resolving to take Suzanne's advice.


	9. Chapter 9

Julia felt her entire body fall to pieces as continued to Anthony devour her sex greedily. She trembled from her head to her toes and whined sexily as she started to cum harder than she ever had before. Anthony was in complete awe of her. She was such a sexy woman but so girlish. Her entire body became colored in a faint blush as she climbed higher and higher. The sleek delivery man flicked his tongue repeatedly over her clitoris while his fingers pushed into her swollen g spot. He wanted nothing more than to give her all of the pleasure that she could handle. 

The hand that had been clutching Anthony's shoulder now moved back to the top of his head and she tugged on his hair, desperate for contact. Her release flowed around his fingertips, warm and creamy. Her walls grew painfully taut before they began to contract almost nonstop. She whimpered and cried for him in complete abandon, not caring at all who they were or where they were. She supposed she had wanted Anthony for a longer time than she had originally been able to admit to herself. And, my lord… did he know what he was doing! 

"Oh god...ohgodohgod." Julia cried out as she felt another set of tremors attack her body. She didn't know what was happening to her. It was almost as though she could not stop.

The dam had broken.

'That's it, beautiful. Tell me how much you like my tongue…' Anthony gently praised as he pulled back a little bit. He wanted nothing more than to see Julia in this moment and to know that the contorted look on her face was all because of him.

Julia felt every single muscle in her body tighten and she fell against the sheets like some sort of rag doll. Anthony was gentle as he licked the sweet honey from Julia's swollen folds until she was nice and clean. He laid a kiss against her soft outer lips and then slowly started to kiss his way up her still trembling figure.

Everything about Julia was so erotic to Anthony. Her skin was so soft and she dipped in all of the right places. She smelled so good and was pleasantly perky in all the places that truly counted. Anthony used all of his strength and skipped over Julia's supple breasts in favor of her dazed grey green eyes. He needed to feel like what had just happened between them was real. 

'Is it alright if I kiss you?' Anthony asked as he ghosted his lips over Julia's. 

'Yes… ' Julia husked as she arched forward to catch Anthony's lips aggressively. 

They kissed each other hungrily. Never had either of them ever remembered being so reckless with another person before. Julia moaned as she tasted herself on Anthony's lips and tongue. She had been pensive about tasting her own juices but it turned out to be incredibly erotic. The brunette wrapped herself around the younger man and he pressed his nakedness against her own. 

Julia pulled away and arched a finely plucked eyebrow at Anthony who was trying to catch his breath. She could feel his morning erection pressing awkwardly against her hip. It had been a long time since Julia had awakened with a man in her bed. She had almost forgotten what a proper erection felt like. Reese had his moments in the beginning of their relationship but for the most part, he hardly ever surpassed a semi. 

'Anthony…' Julia said, her tone slightly questioning as she looked up at him.

'I...I'm sorry, Julia. I can just go take a quick cold shower and then we can talk this whole thing over… maybe see if we can remember how we got here.' Anthony stammered as he tried not to think of the fact that his long legged boss was naked beneath him. 

That he had just made her cum after loving her with his mouth. 

'Don't waste it on my account…' Julia breathed, hoping that she didn't sound too corny as she let her hand reach out to stroke his cheek. 

'Julia… You don't have to… We don't have to.' Anthony insisted, not wanting to put any pressure on the beautiful brunette beneath him, her cheeks flushed and her curls wild. 

'You are right about that. We don't have to but I want to… Who are we to say that we haven't already… That's the only way that I can justify why we both woke up naked…' Julia reasoned softly as she slid her hand down his neck and chest. 

'You want to ?' Anthony asked, having heard only that. 

'Well, if we did, you know… I don't remember it and I definitely want to remember it.' Julia sighed as she admired Anthony's strong muscles.

A slow smirk spread across Anthony's face and he lowered his head to pull Julia into a sudden, drugging kiss that grew burning hot faster than a brush fire. She wanted him. He wanted her and he was going to make sure that Julia felt exactly how much. They wrestled for dominance in the lip lock and before Julia knew what was happening, she was being pushed on top of the young delivery man. She pulled slowly away and shyly peered down at Anthony. She had been on top before of course but she did not really like it. She hated feeling so exposed. Anthony's eyes were almost black with his lust for her and he was not shy as he took in every inch of her body.

'You are the sexiest looking woman that I have ever shared a bed with.' Anthony admitted as he let his eyes follow a path from her breasts to her hypnotizing grey green eyes. 

'You are just saying that…' Julia blushed girlishly as she turned her eyes away from Anthony's. She was so used to Reese using such compliments to get her to do things that she did not particularly want to do that she did not know how to take genuine praise. 

'I am not. I mean every word. You are so beautifully made.' Anthony breathed in wonderment as he watched her turn away from him shyly. 

It broke his heart to see Julia question her own beauty the way that she did. If he ever had a moment to put that Reese Watson in his place, he would definitely do it. 

'And, not just on the outside. In fact, I think your brain is the most erotic part about you.' Anthony admitted as he let his hands come up to caress Julia's hips. 

'Really? You do?' Julia asked, as she let her eyes meet his once more. 

'Oh yes. I do. You are very intelligent and I enjoy our banter. I've never experienced what we had with any woman ever in my life.' Anthony smiled softly as he pulled her further down against his chest and caught her lips in a deep kiss. 

Julia moaned as she let him pull her into a seductive battle of lips, tongue and teeth. His hands ran slowly up her sides until he could cup her breasts in them. This time Anthony was the one to react with a deep groan. Julia was so perky and soft. Her breasts fit perfectly in his hands as though they were made with only him in mind. They kissed each other languidly as though they both had not a single care in the world. Julia soon found herself right back where she had started out; beneath Anthony's hard male body with her back on the cool crisp sheets. 

She let her long legs come up and wrap loosely around the young delivery man's hips as he moved from her lips to her seamly neck. Anthony seemed to know where all of her sweet spots were almost instinctively. He kissed and suckled at her as he moved to position himself in between her thighs. His hard cock nestled itself against her sodden slit and they both moaned at what that feeling implicated. The first contact of their most private parts. 

Julia was trying to ground herself. It had been a long time since she had taken a lover and she did not want to have to deal with the pain that came with intercourse. Anthony had definitely seen that she was relaxed and she was more than just a little bit wet. The nudging of his broad cock head against her swollen pearl brought her out of her thoughts as Anthony experimentally rocked against her. He had found his way to her breasts and he was taking his time worshipping the sweet flesh. Anthony kissed the softness of her breast until he came to the perfectly straining mauve colored center. 

He pulled it into his mouth and Julia could not help the elongated moan that escaped her lips. She had always had very sensitive breasts and the men in her past had not been interested in giving them their due because they were not as her ginger counterpart had so cleverly called 'life threatening breasts.' Apparently, Anthony was not very selective or at least he did not seem that way. He made deep groans of enjoyment as he sucked her sweet flesh.  
Anthony had always been an ass man himself but there was something about Julia's breasts that was giving him a satisfaction that he had never felt before. They were just the perfect size for him and she apparently got a lot of pleasure from having attention bestowed upon them. The harder and deeper that he suckled her nipple, the more she moaned for him. Her sweet sounds made him not want to stop. He suckled her nipple until it was swollen and then moved over to the other breast. He knew now what kind of touch she liked so he did not hesitate to bite down on her teat with his teeth. This earned him the pleasure of having long nails raked down his back. 

Anthony ground himself against Julia allowing his hard cock to settle itself at her entrance. The broad tip poked at her while he rocked his hips teasingly against her. He wanted to be fully covered in her juices before he even tried to go fully inside of her. It would do good to rush this. He didn't want to hurt her. Julia whimpered as she felt Anthony's naked tip start to push inside of her. Her eyes dilated at the sensation. This was different. She definitely did not remember ever feeling this before but she had been so heavily intoxicated last night that it was hard to tell. Anthony was big. He was bigger than anything that she had ever tried to fit inside of herself before. He was pushing in very slowly while he suckled hungrily at her breast. 

'Anthony… wait…' Julia gasped as she felt him fill her halfway. 

'What's wrong? Am I hurting you?' Anthony asked nervously as he pulled away from her breast to look worriedly into her wide grey green eyes. 

'Not hurting…It's just so much…' Julia breathed as she reached up to clutch his biceps. 

'Your welcome.' Anthony chuckled smugly before lowering himself to her lips and leaving a series of sensual kisses there. 

If she wanted to slow down then that is what he would do. He stopped halfway and just let her get used to the weight of his cock inside of her. They kissed each other amorously and then Anthony pulled away to nuzzle Julia's neck affectionately. She moaned beneath him and clutched onto him, burning hot everywhere that they touched. As far as Julia was concerned, sex had never felt like this before. The anticipation had never been so strong. She was warm and ready to let Anthony make her feel as beautiful as he considered her to be. 

'Slow.' Julia breathed huskily, giving Anthony the okay to move. 

'I can do that.' Anthony nodded as he tipped his hips and started to move very slowly inside of Julia's snug sheath. She was so tight. He had never felt anything like Julia in his life. 

Julia moaned as she felt Anthony move a little bit inside of her. He started a gentle rocking motion, stroking himself within her body. He wondered just how long it had been for Julia but he decided that he would rather let that reveal itself another time. Julia's legs tightened even further around Anthony's undulating hips. She moved her hips gently as well, answering his slow movements with ones of her own. 

Anthony groaned as he felt Julia start to writhe beneath him. She seemed to know exactly how to move to suck Anthony into her. The young delivery man waited until he felt that Julia was relaxed enough and started to set a more deliberate rhythm. He had to move or else he would risk ending this tryst before it had even really started. Julia tossed her head back on the pillow and Anthony took that as an invitation to suckle the soft skin of her neck as he rolled his hips against her pliant lower half. 

It wasn't long before his steady pace was not enough and neither of them could control the animalistic need gently threatening to come up above the surface. Anthony sat up on his knees and looked down at Julia with almost black eyes as he started to push a little bit more of himself inside of her. He looked away from her for a second to take a glance at their point of joining. The mere sight of his thick cock pushing inside of her little pink pussy was one that could have brought Anthony right over the edge if he had paid enough attention to it.

Once he was buried to the hilt, he stilled and let Julia feel him completely. She looked up at him, panting, his name on her lips as she reached up to caress his cheek. Anthony caught her delicate hand and brought it to his mouth to lay a tender kiss on it, never noticing the fact that Julia was wearing his pinky ring on her ring finger. He lovingly kissed the inside of her wrist and she moaned. Her body was one big erogenous zone and everything that he did felt absolutely amazing. 

'Alright?' Anthony asked, his tone thick and filled with desire as he watched Julia's face for any discomfort. 

The brunette nodded and moaned when she felt Anthony slowly pull almost all the way out before he pushed back in. He was so big. His girth almost overwhelmed her. She felt full in a way that she never had before. She had never even imagined that a man could be this impressive. Her green grey eyes never left his deep brown ones as he began to make love to her. Anthony moved in long deep strokes that made Julia whimper and moan in a low octave. 

Anthony moved his hips in a way that he knew would bring Julia the most pleasure that she had ever had. He moved his hips upward a touch and she cried out softly as his broad tip swept over her swollen g spot. He had the perfect length to be able to reach all of her most secret places. Something that her other lovers had lacked. Her hands grasped at the sheets, needing to feel something concrete as she let Anthony take her to all to new heights of pleasure.  
Anthony could not believe this. He was having sex with Julia in a bed inside of a Las Vegas hotel as the sunlight peaking through the blinds revealed soft sections of her flawless skin. Not only was he having sex with Julia but she wanted it. She was accepting each one of his heavy thrusts with enthusiasm, moaning and arching her body just for him. He could not get enough of the way that she moved and the way that she looked up at him through her sex laden eyelids. All of her drew him in and urged him on. He rolled hips in all directions, testing her every reaction to his movements against her. 

She seemed to really make the most noise when he gave her numerous sharp thrusts followed by nice long strokes. 

So he kept on that way, laying out over her body and letting his arms curl around her shoulders. He relished the closeness that this change in position afforded him. Julia was digging her fingertips into the tough muscled skin of his shoulder blades. Anthony felt completely surrounded by her and he somehow knew that he never wanted to be anywhere else. This was where he was supposed to be. 

Julia's cries became louder and louder as Anthony moved within her warm depths. The young delivery man was too far gone to concentrate on any kind of technique. He had started to give her heavier thrusts, pounding away at her tight pussy. The entire room around them smelled like hot and sweaty sex. Julia's long fingernails were scratching down his back now. He was sure even through his sexual haze that she was drawing blood. 

Julia was absolutely delirious with pleasure as she felt Anthony slam his hard cock into her body again and again. He had set the perfect pace and now she was fighting to remain coherent. God, she could not believe that this man had been just under her nose the entire time. He was so good at what he was doing and she could not wait to tell him that he was the best that she had ever had. 

Though she supposed that he knew since she could not stop moaning out his name as he hit everyone of her secret spots with perfect precision. 

Anthony pulled his upper body from Julia's and got up on his knees once more. He kept up his forceful pounding rhythm, entirely too in the moment to stop, while his fingers strayed in search of that swollen little clit in between her swollen outer folds. Julia jolted and whimpered sharply as she felt Anthony begin to circle her tender bundle while he thrusted in and out of her body. 

'Are you going to cum for me?' Anthony asked as he kept up the quick circling of Julia's clit. He aimed his thrusts so that they could push against her g spot. 

'Y...yes...oh yes.' Julia respended arching her back and pushing herself further into the younger man's hard body. 

'Good girl.' Anthony praised through clenched teeth as he felt the pressure building just inside of her. She was so close. 

The young delivery man knew that he was done for. He knew the moment that he felt Julia's wall squeeze hard around his cock, he would lose complete control of himself. He kept pushing himself in and out of her body as she begged in not to stop… to not ever stop. His fingers were clumsy as they worked her pearl and before he realized what was happening, Julia was screaming. She screamed his name as well as praises for several deities as her walls tightened and strangled his throbbing cock. They fluttered and they danced as her release flowed out from her depths to cover his still moving organ. He was trying in vain to prolong Julia's pleasure even as he felt himself starting to lose momentum.

'That's it… ' he groaned loudly as he felt Julia writhing hotly beneath him. She was whimpering helplessly as her orgasm passed through her. 'I'm going to fill you up…' 

'Please…' Julia begged even as her eyes rolled back inside of her head and she grabbed at his back viciously. 

Anthony moved against her as hard as his body would allow him. He could feel his sack tightening almost painfully against his body as she panted beneath him and another series of tremors tore through her body. He wondered briefly how long it had been since Julia had even had an orgasm before his body gave up the fight and his hips stuttered repeatedly against her. Long white ribbons spurted from his cock to cover her insides as he howled her name. His climax was absolutely mind numbing in its intensity and he was careful not to hurt her with his clumsy movements. 

'Anthony… mhmmm…' Julia hummed softly as she felt his warmth fill her up. She was beginning to slowly be aware of what was going on as she came down from the highest of heights. 

'Julia...Jesus…' Anthony grunted as he felt his cock softening within the warm tightness of her depths. He could feel her body calming and he didn't bother pulling himself from her, loving the way that her hands slid soothingly up and down his back.

He leant forward a bit and was pleasantly surprised when Julia pulled him in for a series of soft loving kisses as they both willed their hearts to stop pounding.

And, even as Anthony reached out to cup her cheek, neither noticed that he was wearing the diamond ring that Julia always wore on his ring finger.


	10. Chapter 10

"So we just gonna sit here all night?" Mary Jo asked curiously.

She, Charlene, Suzanne, and Bertram were squeezed into a booth in one of the hotel's restaurants. A red sign flickered above them that read "Burgers! Burgers! Burgers!" in looping cursive, and the sound of metal hitting metal mixed with the smell of grease filtered out from the kitchen. In the corner, a screaming baby cut through the otherwise quiet atmosphere in the dining area, and Mary Jo twirled her straw slowly through the water in her glass as she waited for someone to say something.

"You got any better ideas?" Suzanne snapped, shoving Bertram's plate back toward him, all the pieces of burger cut finely into pieces that were denture-appropriate.

"I still think we might've been mistaken" Charlene said nervously, twirling her bracelet around on her wrist. She glanced up at Suzanne, and then over at Mary Jo before adding, "...Right?"

"No" they both answered in unison, rolling their eyes at each other.

"Well what do we do?" Charlene asked mournfully, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"We don't know yet, Charlene" Mary Jo said tersely, picking up a french fry and dipping it in some ketchup before dropping it back on the plate.

"Maybe they got married" Bertram muttered, slowly pushing his fork into a piece of burger and lifting it to his mouth.

The others froze and shot one another startled looks before Suzanne jerked his fork away from his mouth and snapped, "Whaddya mean married?"

Bertram looked at her, startled, before replying slowly, "There's a chapel down the hall from us. They were in their last night, drinkin' and carrying on while you were at the Billiard table, Suzanne. Ya lost $400 dollars, remember, and I said--"

"Nevermind about the money, old man winter, what do you mean you saw MY sister and our delivery guy gettin' hitched?!"

"I didn't see 'em gettin' hitched, I saw 'em standing outside in the hall and looking in" Bertram replied tersely, shaking her off. He chuckled and added, "But boy, did they seem to be lit up...if you know what I mean" as he made a drinking motion with his hand, chuckling again and turning back to his lunch.

"Oh my word" Mary Jo said, somewhat stunned.

"Y-you don't think...they..." Charlene stammered, glancing at Bertram and then back at Suzanne.

Suzanne pressed her lips together angrily, then slammed her hand on the counter, rising to her feet and jerking Bertram's wheelchair away from the table as he cried out, "Hey, what the--"

"Where are you going?" Charlene asked in a panicked voice, jumping to her feet and rushing behind Suzanne as Mary Jo followed, frantically willing her short legs to keep pace with the both of them.

Suzanne didn't stop until she'd reached the elevator, ramming her hand into the third floor button and whirling her head around angrily. "Where the hell do ya think I'm goin'? This nursing home fly just said he saw Julia and Anthony sloshed near a chapel last night, and we know their keepin' paces upstairs!"

"Maybe we should calm down--" Charlene said, rushing to follow Suzanne into the elevator before the doors shut.

"Like hell I am! If I find out Anthony made himself a ball n'chain out of my sister without my permission I'm gonna cram his teeth down his throat."

Mary Jo and Charlene looked at one another nervously as the elevator slowly ascended, jolting to a stop and finally opening its doors to their floor, Suzanne barely hesitated long enough for them to open wide enough before shoving Bertram's wheelchair forward and rushing down the hall. She came to a halt in front of Julia's room and pounded her hand on the door, calling out, "Julia! JULIA! ANTHONY! You better open this door or I'll kick it in myself!"

There was a silence on the other end of the door and Suzanne waited before pounding on the door again, catching the attention of a maid who was rolling a cleaning cart down the hall.

"Ma'am?" she asked in stilted English, alarmed at Suzanne's banging. 

"I needya to open this door" Suzanne snapped, pointing her finger in the direction of the lock. 

"Is yours?" the woman asked, looking at her curiously.

"No, but I suspect a gas leak" Suzanne said tersely, straightening her shoulders for effect.

"...I'm sorry, I don't--"

"Open the door and I'll give ya fifty dollars" Suzanne said, her hand diving into her purse for a few moments to produce the bill which she waved in front of the woman's face.

The woman hesitated, glancing curiously over at Mary Jo and Charlene before relenting and opening the door, waving away Suzanne's offer and stepping back as they burst into the room.

Suzanne stopped short and stood in shock, looking at an empty bed, its sheets swept haphazardly off the mattress and lying in a tangled mess on the floor. Suzanne whirled her head around to the dresser opposite the bed and realized Julia's purse was missing, as were her shoes.

"Where do you think they are?" Charlene whispered, looking around in shock.

Downstairs, Julia stood stubbornly in front of a flustered looking young man in the chapel, saying to him, "You don't understand, we didn't mean to do this", waving her hand at Anthony and shaking her ring in his face.

"Well, ma'am, your names are right here--"

"Oh man, Dondi is gonna kill me" Anthony whimpered, looking up at the ceiling in distress.

"You? It's me we should be worried about. I mean, God forbid anyone find out what we DID here. It's not my fault you treated me to an evening of--as you put it--'safe fun' in Sin City, but I'm the one with the reputation to uphold."

Anthony whirled his head around angrily and said, "Excuse me? Reputation? Julia, ain't nothin' sacred about your reputation anymore after what we just did up there. I"M just glad I sobered up enough to realize--"

"YOU sobered up enough?! It was ME who noticed my ring on your hand and shoved you off of me!" Julia shot back, glaring icily at him.

"So...you aren't dating then...? the man asked tentively.

"NO!" they snapped in unison, glowering at him.

Julia exhaled, looking at the ground in frustration before saying, "Alright...you listen to me. I'm asking you with all that is kind and patient in me to TELL me how we get this thing annulled without anyone finding out. It can't be that hard to get a Vegas wedding that isn't 24 hours old done away with, am I right?"

"Yes ma'am, basically. You just can't do it here. See, we're a chapel, we marry people but to do any annulling you have to go to the courthouse and file the paperwork there" the man said meekly.

"And where is that?" Julia said, folding her arms in front of her. Truthfully, she was feeling the effects of their bender last night and she had no desire to walk in the hot sun around Vegas to find the courthouse, but she'd be damned if she was leaving Vegas still a married woman. 

"Just a little ways from here. You cross at the cross walk and then make a right and follow that strip to the end and you'll see the courthouse on the other side of the strip."

Anthony and Julia shot each other a desperate glance before she snatched their marriage certificate from the man's hands and stomped out of the chapel angrily, Anthony following her closely. 

"Uh, excuse me, Julia? You can't go it alone here, Pale Face, I'm half the marriage, remember?"

"Then learn to KEEP UP" she snapped, not bothering to look back at him before flying out of the doors of the hotel and marching to the crosswalk, barely waiting for it to turn green before she sauntered across the street, Anthony following frantically behind her.

Inside the hotel, Suzanne walked the hallway, frantically looking down the shops on the left as Mary Jo and Charlene covered the ones on the left, trying to find any sign of Anthony and Julia. 

"You see 'em anywhere?" Suzanne asked, stopping and looking over at them.

"No" they answered, defeatedly, looking around and trying to see through the throng of people that was now flooding the halls.

"Wait a minute" Suzanne said, whirling her head around and disappearing in the direction of the chapel.

Mary Jo and Charlene exchanged nervous glances but followed close behind as Suzanne cornered the man inside and said, "Did ya see two people get married in here last night, one black, one white?" 

"SUZANNE!" Mary Jo cried, shaking her head in embarrassment.

"You don't see that everyday" Suzanne retorted, glaring at the man who stared up at her nervously.

"They just left to go to the courthouse" he said quietly, looking at her fearfully.

"Courthouse?" Suzanne asked in confusion.

"To get a divorce!" Charlene said in a hushed tone, her eyes widening in shock.

"They got married last night...by accident...?" the man said, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

They exchanged glances with one another before Suzanne marched off and yelled, "Come on!", disappearing around the corner.


	11. Chapter 11

"Anthony, slow down!"

Julia rushed to keep up with him, nearly falling into his back as he stopped short in the courthouse hallway, spinning around to look at her.

"What, Julia?" he snapped, glaring in annoyance.

"I said SLOW DOWN, if I'm going to get divorced today I'd sure as hell like to be there" she replied tersely, tugging at her clothes and shoving her way passed him as she sauntered on to the court clerk's office.

"Oh well, excuse me," Anthony retorted, walking swiftly to fall in line with her, "let us not get in the way of Madam Sugarbaker, leader of us all."

Julia was about to whirl around and give Anthony the greatest dressing down of his life when they heard a woman say, "Can I help you?"

They turned to see a small woman of about sixty standing in front of them, clipboard in hand, ready to give directions to what she could tell right off were out-of-towners.

"We accidentally got married last night and would like to file for divorce" Julia said quickly, accidentally giving up more information than she had originally intended to and feeling embarrassed as she watched the woman glance at her and Anthony curiously.

"Quickie Vegas wedding?" she replied curiously, to which they shook their heads and answered "Yes!" simultaneously.

"That's on the third floor. Our paperwork process for a Vegas divorce, especially that sort, is fairly simple."

"Thank you" Julia replied in an over-dignified manner, trying to salvage the last shreds of her respectability as she marched toward the elevator. She and Anthony rushed out of the doors and down to a small room at the end, where a few--obviously non-resident--couples were waiting to file similar papers. Julia had always balked at the concept of the quickie Vegas wedding being a result of the atmosphere combined with alcohol of Sin City, but now, as she stood in line behind a rather young looking couple, she thought that she'd fallen so far off her high horse that any opinions she could've once espoused had lost their legitimacy.

"NEXT!" barked the man behind the counter, looking annoyed in spite of the fact that it was just barely after 9 am.

Julia and Anthony stepped quickly up to where he was standing, Julia dropping their marriage license on the counter and saying, "We'd like a divorce, please" in a tone that made it sound like she was ordering something on a menu and not willing the absolute and swift dissolution of a marriage.

"More like NEED" Anthony muttered under his breath, turning away from her. 

Julia shot him a glare, hearing the man cut into their argument and producing her driver's license in response, sliding it across the counter.

The man pursed his lips, checking both their licenses briefly before tossing them back at them and producing a small form for them to sign.

"Just read up here, print here, date here, sign there" he drolled, reaching under his desk and popping a cracker in his mouth as Julia slid her glasses on her nose.

She let her eyes sweep over the page before shrugging simply and signing her name to the sheet, sliding it toward Anthony and watching as he did the same, closing the lid to the pen and pushing it back toward the man.

"Alright, divorce granted, congratulations" the man said in a monotonous, sarcastic voice as he stamped it and looked up at them.

"That's it?" Julia asked in confusion.

"Ma'am, it was a Vegas wedding in a hotel. It doesn't need to be complicated. We take divorce about as serious as anyone here takes marriage."

Julia felt her head jerk back, hesitating before walking numbly out of the office, suddenly feeling a wave of shame wash over her as she thought about her sixteenth birthday, and the talk her mother had given her as she was about to go to prom; about the importance of waiting for the right boy, the holiness of marriage and how relationships weren't to be taken lightly. Julia had only half-listened at the time, twirling her corsage while waiting for Nathan Charles to pick her up, but now, as she stepped back into the hallway and thought about the events of last night, for some reason the speech came rushing back into her consciousness. 

"Finally" Anthony said tersely, stepping into the hallway beside her. He jerked at his suit jacket, expecting to hear a reply from Julia before looking over at her curiously when he didn't get one. He saw her gazing blankly out the window, and stared at her curiously before she turned to him and looked at him for probably the first time that morning.

"We just got divorced, Anthony" she said softly, looking away again, her face revealing an unexpected level of shame.

Anthony felt discomfort well up in his chest as he touched her arm gently and said, "Well, yeah, Julia, it's what we wanted."

She looked back up at him, anger crossing her face as she withdrew her arm from his grasp and said, "Glad to hear you're not bent out of shape about this" before marching off toward the elevator.

"Julia, what the hell are you talking about?" Anthony asked, feeling equally annoyed and confused now as he slid in beside her, hearing the doors close in front of them.

"Nothing" she said, sighing angrily. "Just wait until I get my morning coffee, I'll be as cavalier as you about this."

Anthony stared at her in bewilderment as she doors swung open, watching her march toward the front door and back toward the street. He followed her, trying to figure out what to say when he felt her come to a halt, following her gaze to see Mary Jo, Charlene, Suzanne and Bertram standing in the lobby, waiting to talk to the woman with the clipboard. The crowd, by now, was thick enough that they hadn't been noticed yet, and he felt Julia grab his arm tightly and drag him toward the rear exit as he glanced over his shoulder repeatedly, praying they wouldn't be noticed.

It was only after they descended the stone stair case and crossed the street that Julia finally released his arm as he exhaled in relief, feeling his shoulders slump in exhaustion. They walked in silence for a few moments before Anthony noticed a small cafe and stopped Julia, saying quietly, "You want breakfast?"

Julia turned and looked at him in surprise before following his gaze and looking curiously at the cafe for a few moments before replying, "Sure" softly.

Anthony, shocked he hadn't gotten an argument in response, lead the way and found them a table, discreetly situated in the corner, away from the windows. 

As he studied Julia in her seat across from him, he felt a lump of guilt catch in his throat and knew that the last thing they needed was to be interrupted by their friends.


	12. Chapter 12

They ate breakfast in silence. Anthony knew that Julia was having a hard time with this but he was not all that sure how to approach her about it. While it was true that they had shared a lot of things in the last twenty four hours that they had not shared with anyone in years if ever before, they had not discussed anything pertaining to their emotions. Julia had pulled away from him almost right after they had found unspeakable pleasure in each other's arms and had rebuilt the wall around herself higher than he had ever really seen it. He didn't want to fight with her. He just wanted her to be able to talk to him. She needed to know that he felt just as guilty about this as she did. 

'How is your coffee?' Anthony asked, breaking the silence in between them as he peered up from his cup to look at the brunette across from him. 

'Perfectly good. Thank you.' Julia nodded curtly as she kept herself from meeting Anthony's eyes. 

'You are most certainly welcomed.' Anthony sighed, trying to just be as gentle with her as he had always been.

'Anthony… You don't have to do this… I don't need to be coddled.' Julia offered sharply as she stirred the black liquid absently. 

'I don't have to what? I don't be a gentleman? ' Anthony countered, shaking his head at her stubborn ways. 'My Dondi didn't raise me that way.' 

'Yes well what is she going to think when she finds out that you are now a divorced man? That you were we practically seduced into a marriage that you did not agree to by your very drunk, older boss…' Julia bit back, her cheekbones flaring.

'Julia, stop. What happened last night is not only your fault… I was there too and I was just as drunk as you were…' Anthony insisted, refusing to let the older woman place all of the blame on herself. 

'You don't understand… I… I am no better than Dee Dee.' Julia announced, her voice slightly broken as she struggled not to start crying in such a public setting. 

'Dee Dee? Who is Dee Dee?' Anthony asked thoroughly confused as to who the older sage was referring to.

'Dee Dee was the woman that my Daddy divorced my mother to marry.' Julia replied gravely as she cast her eyes to the floor. 

Anthony nodded his head as realization struck him. The truth was that Julia was so kind and so giving that he forgot that she even came from what some would call a broken home. She never really talked about her childhood all that much. He waited for her to explain more. This was an area where it would do no good to force her into pressing on. 

'I was 11 years old when my Daddy told Mother that he was leaving. He had met some kind of dancer and they were in love with each other. They had been meeting at a hotel for months before he broke the news. She was a tiny wisp of a girl. I could not stand her and I wondered where she found the audacity to break up our happy home. Mother could not handle it. It killed some part of her and she was never the same after that… I promised myself that I would never have to go through something so awful… so shameful as getting a divorce.' Julia told as a solitary tear rolled slowly down her olive colored cheek. 

Anthony reached over and cupped her cheek, letting his thumb wipe the teardrop away gently. She had never talked to him about something so personal before and he felt honored that she trusted him enough to open up. He knew that Julia did not have many people that she could confide in. She wasn't one to talk freely about her feelings like the other women tended to do. Julia was reserved but right now she was feeling vulnerable and she was letting him in...or at the very least trying to.

'Hey now, you are entirely too beautiful to be crying like that.' Anthony offered gently. 'You don't have anything to be ashamed of. No one is going to find out about this.'

"That's not the point, Anthony!" Julia hissed in frustration. "The point is, that after a wild night of MARRIAGE followed by uninhibited love-making, we are now divorced, and we're supposed to go back to Sugarbaker's and act like everything is FINE?! Everything may be fine for you, but it is not fine for me!"

"C-calm down, Julia" Anthony whispered frantically, seeing some of the nearby patrons casting curious glances toward their table.

Julia sniffled, lowering her face and snatching a napkin from the table top to dab at her eyes, trying desperately not to lose her composure in public.

"Julia, listen to me" Anthony said gently, grabbing her hand in his. He waited until she slowly raised her eyes to meet his before continuing. "Julia, I heard your story and I understand what you mean. What I'm saying is, has it ever occurred to you that you don't need to be perfect, if your own parents couldn't be? I know you love them, but think about what you just said--your daddy ran off to be with a dancer, and your mamma had boyfriends left and right! They're not flawless neither!"

Julia looked at the table and withdrew her hand from his, shaking her head sadly. "But that's just the point, Anthony--they weren't perfect, but I have to be. I have to do better, Anthony, and I haven't."

Anthony leaned across the table and said firmly, "You're a successful business woman with a grown son whose turned out better than any parent could hope for after you raised him by yourself--you did do better, Julia. You already have."

Julia furrowed her brows in thought before glancing up at him and saying softly, "You think so?"

"I know so, Julia. One little mistake doesn't undo everything you've done."

"It wasn't a little mistake, Anthony" she shot back tersely.

"Okay, one BIG mistake" he said, relenting and holding his hands in the air. "My point is everybody makes mistakes, and the only thing we can do now is make the best of the situation. It doesn't undo everything we've done in the past, and it doesn't make you a bad person."

Julia fiddled with her napkin and shifted in her seat, pondering what he'd said. 

"I'll never tell anyone, Julia, not another soul, and I won't treat you different after this. When we go back home, you're the boss, and I'm your business partner, and that's that."

Julia narrowed her eyes at him and hesitated before saying slowly, "It doesn't change how you feel?"

"No" Anthony replied firmly, only catching the curious look in her eye after the word had slipped from his mouth. Before he could put a name to the expression on her face, she turned her face away from him and looked down at the table.

"Alright then" she said softly, taking another bite of her breakfast, indicating to him that the conversation was over. 

Anthony looked curiously at her and thought to say something else, but decided against it, shrugging uneasily and simply following suit. 

Ten minutes later they paid for their breakfast--separately, Julia leaving Anthony no choice in the matter--and headed back to the hotel. For the duration of their walk back Julia was quiet, and Anthony mulled over a thousand different ways to ask her what was wrong before they got back to their rooms, but before he knew it she was shutting her door in his face, and he was left standing alone in the hallway, with nothing to say.


	13. Chapter 13

Hours later, Suzanne, Charlene and Mary Jo returned to the hotel and decided that one or more of them should try to check on Julia. Mary Jo decided that it ought to be her since she was the most level headed of the three of them. The ginger haired woman knocked on the hotel room door and was greeted to with nothing but dead silence before the door slowly opened. Julia stood there, her face worn and wet with tears, her hair mangled. She looked absolutely awful. Mary Jo tilted her head before stepping inside and shutting the door behind herself. 

'Julia? What's wrong?' Mary Jo asked as she eyed the older brunette with a concerned look on her face. 'You didn't come to breakfast… then we saw you with Anthony headed to the courthouse… now you look like you have had all of the life sucked right out of you…'

'I made a terrible mistake.' Julia sighed in a quiet voice as she sat down on one of the little dining chairs. She refused to meet the redhead's eyes and instead stared down at her bare feet. 

'What happened?' Mary Jo asked though she already had a small inkling of what went on between her boss and their delivery man. 'You can tell me, Julia. I would judge you.' 

'What happened is… I got drunk. I got drunk with Anthony and...and...we got married at one of those cheap little all night chapels and then we went to bed together…which I do not remember...All I know is that I woke up...naked this morning with him in between my legs and I let him make love to me...then I noticed the rings...and I lost control...I could not believe what I had done…and I made him follow me to the chapel and then to the courthouse to get it annulled and now...now I will never be able to look at him again...and I will never forgive myself for acting the way that I did last night. I never… I'm divorced now.' Julia spouted, fresh tears falling down her cheeks as she felt the pain of the last twenty four hours rip through her once more. 

'Well, I figured that you two had slept together but I didn't think that you all had gotten married. That just doesn't sound like you, Julia. You must have been plastered.' Mary Jo chuckled softly as she shook her head in mock amusement. 

'I was more than just plastered. I must have had a moment of temporary insanity. I had never been so satisfied than when we signed that annulment paper this morning.' Julia sighed as she dug her big toe into the carpet. 

'Then why do you look so devastated?' Mary Jo asked gently. 

'I...I don't know. I...I'm so confused…I like Anthony a lot...I do. I never...I never felt like I did this morning with anyone before...but it is a lot more complicated than good sex…great sex.' Julia blushed hotly as she lowered her tone slightly. 

'Well, just because you all are not married doesn't mean that you have to stop seeing each other.' Mary Jo countered as she eyed Julia. 

'I would not be able to get past the fact that we are divorced… that we never even… that I now had a failed relationship on my record.' Julia pouted as she slowly looked up at her little ginger haired friend. 

'I understand, Julia… Never in my life did I ever think that I would ever have gotten a divorce but I did and I went through the shame of being introduced as the divorced one at parties, by friends and even by my own parents. I thought that I would never be able to live a normal life again but then...I realized that I was only human and humans make mistakes…' Mary Jo insisted as she reached out to give Julia's hand a squeeze. 

'Not everything we did last night was a mistake.' Julia admitted shyly as she felt some of the weight being pushed from her shoulders. 'Only getting married… He was so cavalier about it all and… I just… I… He must think that I am so callous… I have been so short with him all day and I slammed the door in his face. He won't ever… think of me the same way… He says that it won't matter but...I don't know.'

'Talk to him. Explain yourself. Don't leave anything unsaid… Don't let things go sour between you two before anything takes off. He deserves to know how you are really feeling about all of this. He isn't Reese. He will listen and be patient with you. Anthony is a good person, Julia and I think that you two could be good for each other...at least that's the way it sounded this morning when we knocked on your door.' Mary Jo let on as she watched Julia's eyes widen slightly. 

'Were...we...that loud?' Julia asked as she reached up to toy with one of her long errant curls nervously. 'I know that I need to talk to him… I just don't know what to say. I don't know what to start with. I have never had to have this kind of talk before… This is not my area of expertise.'   
.  
'You weren't that quiet… let's just leave it at that.' Mary Jo teased as she watched Julia fidget slightly in her seat. 'Give yourself some time. Maybe wait until we get back home and talk to him then. Tell him that you are nervous. He will understand. After all, you did not marry yourself. You two were in on this together.'

'If only it were that easy.' Julia suggested, thirdly, sharing a small smile with the petite woman.


	14. Chapter 14

The plane ride back to Atlanta was heavy with an awkward silence that refused to be lifted. It was a silence that was apparent to all but Mary Jo, who's snuck a raspberry spritzer past Charlene's keen eye and was now dancing in her seat, headphones sitting snug on her ears. Every once in a while the silence in their section would be broken by Mary Jo crooning, "Hold me closer, tiny dancerrrrrr!" loudly enough to draw the attention and ire of everyone nearby. Eventually, Charlene had lost her patience and whacked Mary Jo hard in the arm, snatching the headphones away from her.

Nearly an hour after their flight landed, they trudged wearily through the front door, doing a last check to make sure they hadn't gotten their luggage crossed in the commotion at the airport, and then saying swift goodbyes as they headed for home. 

Julia heaved a heavy sigh as she slammed the door behind them, dropping her purse on the end table and looking around the room listlessly as she tried to figure out how to find the new normal that was now her existence. She knew the idea that she could just go back to being Anthony's boss tomorrow morning was a stupid one, and she was halfway to the kitchen when she heard a small knock on the door. She stopped, staring at it for a few moments, trying to decide if she should open it. Before she'd made her decision, the knob turned slowly and Anthony slowly stepped inside, looking at her carefully.

"Hey, Julia" he said quietly, looking at her nervously.

"Hello" she said brusquely, brushing a strand of hair off her face. 

"You mind if we...?"

"I'm kind of tired" she said shortly, cutting him off and throwing him an angry look. 

In spite of this, Anthony remained standing where he was, and Julia eventually relented and stalked off to the kitchen to pour herself a drink.

Anthony took this as a cue and shut the door behind him, following her slowly and standing on the other side of the counter. 

She reluctantly poured him a sip of brandy and shoved the glass in his direction, not making eye contact with him, pretending to be absorbed in taking in the state of her kitchen.

"...Julia--"

"There's really no point in you being here!" she snapped, glaring up at him. She huffed angrily, hesitating before adding, "It's done, we're divorced, you said it wouldn't change anything so...". When she couldn't figure out how to finish the sentence, she settled for waving her hand agitatedly at him.

"Julia, I didn't mean--"

"Oh please" she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Let me guess, Mary Jo and you had a little talk and she told you about what I said?"

"No..." Anthony answered, furrowing his brows in confusion.

Julia flushed, turning a bright red, realizing she'd stuck her foot in her mouth. "Well..." she started, unable to figure out how to finish and looking away.

"What talk did you have with Mary Jo?" Anthony asked softly, studying her curiously.

"It wasn't anything" Julia answered swiftly, crossing her arms.

"Well...Julia, if it had to do with this weekend, I'd really like to know--"

"You're certainly welcome to ask Mary Jo on your own" Julia said, turning and walking toward the sofa. 

Anthony rolled his eyes in annoyance and followed behind her, watching her angrily fluff one of the pillows before gently grabbing her shoulder and turning her to face him.

"Julia?" he said softly, looking at her curiously.

"What?" she replied defiantly, hoping the angry stare on her face would encourage him to let go.

He said nothing, and a few moments elapsed before Julia sighed angrily, withdrawing her arm from his grip and saying, "Well it's just ridiculous to tell you now, I mean, you were so cavalier and--" she stopped short, snatching another pillow into her hands and fluffing it angrily. "I'll get over my feelings, so don't bother being--"

"Feelings?" Anthony asked, cutting her off.

"Like I said, I'll get over them" she shot back, chucking the pillow back onto the couch. 

"...Meaning that you still have them...?" Anthony ventured, feeling both confused and hopeful.

"Well it just so happens that sex and marriage are sacred to me, in spite of what happened, and I only engage in either with people I feel..." she trailed off, fluttering her hands nervously and looking at her shoes.

"Well now, you got it wrong, Julia, sex and marriage are important to me too, now I just don't go around--"

"I'm sure."

"I don't!"

"Right."

"Well I like you too!" Anthony sputtered angrily, flailing his arms in exasperation.

Julia looked up at him, a stunned expression on her face. Anthony sighed, shoving his hands back in his pockets and saying quietly, "I like you too, Julia, why do you think I let you go so easy?"

"W--what...?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Anthony shrugged shyly, shifting awkwardly before he spoke again. "I thought that when you woke up that next morning and rushed off to the courthouse that that meant you wanted to get divorced, and--honestly--I know you can do better than me, and have, so I let you do what I thought you wanted to do!" 

He waited for her to say anything, but saw that she was too stunned to speak and decided to continue. "I don't mean that stayin' married was necessarily a good idea, because it wasn't--"

"No" Julia interjected firmly, shaking her head.

"--but I wasn't sorry when we woke up in bed together, and I'm still not sorry" he finished, gazing at her steadily. 

"Oh, well..." Julia said awkwardly, pulling at her clothes, unable to think of anything else to say.

Anthony watched her as she fidgeted and stared silently at the floor, smiling to himself before touching her arm again and saying, "I like you too, Julia, and if you feel the same way...then I'm okay with that."

Julia hesitated, looking up at him finally and studying him before she said softly, "Well--um, I-I definitely don't dislike you" a stubborn expression crossing her face. She averted her eyes, wiggling a little where she stood before saying, "I could like you, possibly, um, I may have to spend more time with you..."

Before she could say anything else, Anthony pulled her closer and kissed her cheek gently, letting her go and watching her lower her eyes to the floor, her cheeks turning a bright pink. 

Anthony smiled, straightening and saying bravely, "Would it be alright if I took you to dinner tomorrow night? No pressure, just dinner and talkin', so we can see where things go?"

Julia thought this over--or pretended to think it over, he couldn't quite tell--before nodding and saying, "Well alright, okay, that'll be fine."

"Tomorrow at seven, I pick you up?"

"Sure, yes" she replied shortly, her cheeks still flushed. 

He grinned to himself, kissing her cheek again and walking toward the door, opening it and turning to see her looking at him curiously. 

"Goodnight, Julia."

"Goodnight, Anthony."

Anthony smirked as he closed the door, shaking his head as he got into his car and drove off into the night. Julia remained where she was for a few more moments before cleaning up the kitchen and walking upstairs to her bedroom, rifling through her nightstand and taking her weekly planner out. She set it on her lap, opening the cap to her favorite pen and flipping to the right page. Under tomorrow's date, she wrote, Date with Anthony at 7. She paused, looking at the sentence before drawing a little smiley face beside it, smiling to herself as she closed the pen and stuck the planner back in her nightstand. For the first time in a long time, she felt excited, for some reason that she couldn't really put her finger on. 

It was like walking toward the end of a long tunnel, and finally seeing light.


End file.
